Rebel Meat introduces a hybrid hamburger

Cattle farming requires 25 kilograms of feed for each kilogram of meat. This basically means that a lot of valuable raw materials are wasted, Cornelia Habacher, one of the founders, explains. “We’ve been thinking about how we can feed the world in 2050. We have looked very objectively into the problem of meat consumption and associated consumption of raw materials. It turned out that there were nothing but plant-based solutions.

However, there was also a potential solution in the form of in vitro meat; as in cultured meat. Both solutions took far too much time and money to develop. So we wanted to design a product that made an immediate difference: a hybrid, whereby meat consumption would be reduced.”

And how does that work?

“Our products are made up of 50 % meat and 50 % royal oyster mushrooms, millet and spices. This mixture is more nutritious than pure meat and has 50 % less cholesterol and fat. Many people want to cut back on their meat consumption, but they’re not satisfied with vegan alternatives. With Rebel Meat, they can opt for eating sustainable meat which they totally enjoy. A ‘veggie burger’ may be more environmentally friendly, but we can reach a larger target group with Rebel Meat. As a result, our burgers have a higher positive impact on the environment. The burger is our first product. But we are constantly working on more and more developments and aim to create a new standard with the hybrid. Alongside meat and plant-based meat substitutes’.

What can we expect from the company in a year’s time?

“This year is the year of the test markets. We want to find out which channels work best. At present, we’re working with wholesale and direct sales. But we also want to go into retail. At the same time, we want to establish contacts in Germany and build up a network in the German-speaking regions of Europe. We are also looking to find manufacturers in other countries in order to be able to produce regionally. But before we internationalize, we first want to cover the Austrian market”.